Bioactive glass coating endows porous Ti6Al4V scaffolds with enhanced interfacial activity and biocompatibility for bone tissue engineering

Porous Ti6Al4V alloy scaffold with controllable geometrical features, desirable mechanical properties, and adjustable porosity, have been developed as a promising biomaterial for bone repair. However, the inherent bio-inertness of Ti6Al4V alloy restricts its ability of bone ingrowth and regeneration. In this study, a Ti6Al4V scaffold with a diamond lattice was fabricated by laser powder bed fusion technology. Then, a bioactive glass (BG) coating was uniformly deposited on the porous Ti6Al4V scaffold via low-temperature plasma spraying. The BG-coated Ti6Al4V scaffold displayed excellent consistency and connectivity with no-pore blockage or fracture defects. Furthermore, the BG coating displayed excellent tensile and shear bond strengths, and establish good interfacial adhesion to the Ti6Al4V matrix. As a result, the risk of delamination was reduced. More importantly, the BG coating shown high mineralization potential and could form a Ca-P immersion product film on the scaffold surface, effectively preventing the leaching of Al and V ions and improving surface bioactivity. In vitro studies further demonstrated the BG-coated Ti6Al4V scaffold exhibited better cell proliferation and osteoblast differentiation. In summary, the BG-coated Ti6Al4V scaffold had stable interfacial adhesion integrity and enhanced bioactivity, offering significant potential for bone tissue engineering applications.